The Control Yuan said yesterday that it was clear inferior materials had been used in the construction of the Fourth Nuclear Power Plant, and the government's failure to get detailed records of the construction work violated regulations for public construction projects.
Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Chen (陳瑞隆) said yesterday that the ministry would leave open the possibility disciplining more officials for the flaws, after 22 officials were punished last month.
The task force investigating the scandal comprised four Control Yuan members: Huang Wu-tzu (黃武次), Chao Chang-ping (趙昌平), Chao Ron-yaw (趙榮耀) and Leu Hsi-muh (呂溪木).
They questioned high-ranking officials, including Chen, and found that there was no construction journal, as regulations require.
"At present, only workers at the site write down the progress of the job, but they do not have an official journal to record details, which contravenes current regulations," Huang said.
Another member of the task force singled out China Shipbuilding Corp, the main contractor for the power plant's construction, for criticism.
"Nuclear safety is very important. China Shipbuilding Corp did not do well in terms of monitoring the construction," Chao Chang-ping said.
CSBC Deputy General Manager Fan Kuang-nan (范光男) yesterday said that the company did not realize that the subcontractors were using inferior materials for the reactor's pedestal.
After being questioned by the task force, Chen said that he respected the Control Yuan's right to investigate and that he will form a investigation team within the ministry to find out the details of the case, including whether the correct procedures for hiring subcontractors had been followed.
"We will finish the report within a month and hand it to the Control Yuan's task force for their reference," Chen said.
Meanwhile, lawmakers concerned about the case yesterday visited Chu Nan (朱楠), the prosecutor-general of the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office (高雄地檢署), and gave him documents and papers he had demanded.
Independent lawmaker Sisy Chen (
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition